annesthreads

I have a Janome 4800, about 7 or 8 years old, which has always been problematic. Some of you may have seen my earlier posts re thread jamming in the tension discs and the dealer saying I shouldn't use quilting threads. I haven't been able to resolve the latest jamming problem, so it needs yet another trip to the shop. At this point I have to stop and ask whether I should cut my losses and buy a new machine, as I keep handing over 50 or 60 pounds for servicing and repairs only to have it go wrong again. The main issues have been the current one of thread easily jamming in the tension discs (and finer ones, not just quilting threads) and the near-impossibility of finding a combination of tension, thread, needle etc etc that will produce FMQ with correct tension. For piecing it's wonderful - a great stitch, sews smoothly and quietly.

This machine has done so much to undermine my never strong confidence. As I've struggled with FMQ, the dealer and others have suggested that the problems are my incompetence, not the machine. Yet a friend who is an experienced quilter and the teacher in a class I went to also found it difficult. I feel that my development as a quilter has been really held back by all the issues I've had with it, all the times it's been in for repair, all the times I've just stopped sewing for ages because I was so sick of the battles with it. It's the reason that I have lots of UFOs, because the quilting was so difficult to do.

I'm retired, and the outlay on a new machine would be very significant for me - definitely a once-only purchase. I would have to be certain that I needed it and that it would be a successful purchase - ie a machine that would be reliable for both piecing and quilting and would last me a long time. My experiences with my current machine have left me quite frightened of making the decision - when I bought this one, it looked like a good buy. And I guess that at the back of my mind is the question as to whether the people who've said it's me not the machine that has the problem may be right and I'll just continue to have these struggles.

Finding a dealer is another issue. The local Janome dealer is the one who just insists that the machines can't be at fault. And when I asked him today about coming in to try a 6600, he said I wouldn't be able to spend a long time on it! This is a 1000 pound machine, so I'm hardly likely to buy it without putting it to the test! The next nearest dealer hasn't got the 6600 in stock.

I feel rather depressed and overwhelmed this evening, that I'm back to the usual problems, and not knowing what to do next.

I should say that I've also tried vintage machines. I have a Featherweight that I love dearly for piecing, and recently bought a 201 that I was hoping might do FMQ, but I'm not having a lot of joy with that so far. I believe the 301 is the best, but it wasn't sold in Europe.

Sorry, this has become a long post - I just needed to set out where I am with all this, as I feel so discouraged and confused.